Mayo dereliction blackspots set for major regeneration works
Mayo County Council has published images of how it proposes to transform the historic Imperial Hotel and four adjoining derelict sites at Ellison Street in Castlebar.
A design team has been appointed for the former hotel's redevelopment into a business innovation hub while designs for the Ellison Street properties have been finalised with Part 8 documents ready for publication and tender documents prepared.
The Imperial site will also be established as a centre of Climate Change Action, environmental business-led research and the wider green and smart economy.
When completed, it will form part of the Atlantic Economic Enterprise Hub project.
Design proposals are progressing in parallel with analysis and research of the historic fabric, building surveys, reports and investigations.
Elsewhere, four derelict properties under the council's ownership at Ellison Street will be demolished and replaced with 13 new homes.
The design proposals includes a new building to the front which engages and intergrates with the historic streetscape, followed by a courtyard and a smaller apartment building to the rear of the site.
The plan incorporates a new archway which will facilitate a future public access route through to the lands behind, enhancing permeability and urban interest in the core of the town.
The council has also revealed plans for a small housing development at Barrack Bridge.
Three existing buildings, which have fallen into dereliction, will be retained and renewed 'as they will contribute to the historic interest and charm of the town centre’, providing three two-bedroom high-quality homes.
A further four houses are in the pipeline for a vacant infill plot at the corner of Newtown and Marian Row.
Meanwhile, the council has confirmed that the avenue from Rock Square to the Gate Lodge of the Military Barracks will be upgraded as well as the public realm around the A,B,C and B blocks.
These retained buildings will be conserved, restored and adapted to be brought into use and design proposals are in train.